GUEST REVIEW: Gifted: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow by Marilyn Kaye
Gifted: Here Today – Gone Tomorrow (Gifted #3)
by Marilyn Kaye | Macmillan Childrens Books (Oct 2009)
Paperpack, 224 pages | Paranormal YA
Guest Reviewer: Liz
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow is the third book in the Gifted series by popular American author, Marilyn Kaye.
For Emily, being able to see the future is anything but a gift. Her visions cause trouble, confusion and people don’t understand her. This includes her mother who is very set against her daughter not only being part of the special class at school, but having these visions at all. It’s not even something she can help.
Her tutor at school, Madame, has urged her to examine these visions to accurately examine them to help them understand it.
When she has visions of some of her class mates disappearing she hesitates to tell anyone. She’s unsure of her visions, no one believed her in the past, why should they now?
As the story unfolds and we realise that Emily’s visions are in fact true visions of the future, you sort of wish you could shake a few people in the novel, to get them to believe her. Her classmates see her as a bit of a flake and choose to ignore or ridicule her abilities.
This of course is very hurtful and it makes Emily even more hesitant to talk to them about what she’s seeing.
The novel – recommended for ages 11+ – moves at a rapid pace. We have a chance to spend some time with Emily and with some of the other nine students in the class but this time spent feels far too fleeting. We only have vague impressions of these other students, none of them really positive, to be honest. They are selfish, mean and sometimes incredibly nasty and self-indulgent, failing to see the bigger picture, to work together as a team for the good of their friends.
Madame is as mysterious as the actual kidnappers who take some of the kids for their own nefarious purposes. It is frustrating as you never quite figure out who she is and what she’s up to. The novel creates more questions than answers and although it is a good ploy to keep everyone reading the rest of the series, it feels like it is exactly that, a ploy.
VERDICT:
Each novel in the series deals with one character from the special class and the adversity they face when it comes to using their gift. It’s a very clever idea, similar to Heroes but it sadly lacks the interesting characters and story lines. I am almost tempted to say that maybe we should wait for the entire series to come out before buying it, it can then be read over a weekend, so that all your questions can be answered and hopefully you will be able to spot the character development and the whole of the story arc. As it stands, each novel feels like a mere chapter, fun, but not very meaty.
RATING: 
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7 Comments
I've never heard of the series, but it sounds quite interesting actually! Will have to check it out!
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Very cool! I've never heard of this series.
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Great review. I'll check this out.
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Sounds like a good series. I don't think I'd want to be able to see into the future.
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I have never heard of this series, but it sounds very interesting to hear of a kid with abilities that has to work their way into them & to understand them. Many times you read of a character with complete control of the ability. It is just nice to see the way they work their way into their gifts.
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this series is amazing, although i have just read Better Late Than Never, and Finders Keepers, but from the things i read oj the net, i am sure ill read the rest
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